The Bank of England is the UK's central bank. Our mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.

The Bank of England is a diverse organisation. Each of its 4,000 plus people are committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.
 

The Secretary's Department supports the Court of Directors and other key Governing Committees of the Bank.

The Secretary is the Bank's Conflicts Officer, and Secretary's Department is responsible for the application of the Conflicts of Interest Codes applying to the Bank's policy committees, and has responsibility for the individual conflict of interest policies that are reflected in 'Our Code', and for the provision of advice.

Team Overview

The Secretary’s Department sits at the heart of the Bank of England, and carries out three main purposes:

• First, we contribute to effective decision-making and the smooth running of the Bank.  We do this by providing the Bank’s central secretariat to the Bank’s Court of Directors, the Executive and subsidiaries; promote good corporate governance throughout the organisation; and provide advice to Governors on national security issues. 
• Second, we help protect the integrity and impartiality of the Bank and its officials.  We do this by maintaining and promoting Our Code and advising all levels of the organisation advising all levels of the organisation on conflicts of interest; handling “Speak Up” whistleblowing matters; and identifying, mitigating and managing insider risks.  
• Third, we serve as a custodian of corporate information and institutional memory.  We do this by cataloguing, preserving and making accessible historic records; acquiring and managing access to information resources, and delivering a professional library service for the Bank; and delivering a records service which manages the Bank’s information and records to meet professional standards and statutory obligations.

Job description

Are you interested in a role where you can support the most senior decision-making in the Bank of England?  Are you an advocate for good governance and corporate discipline?   If so, we currently have a vacancy for a permanent  Adviser in the Executive Secretariat team in Secretary’s Department. 

The role will support the Department in providing secretariat and governance support to the Bank’s Executive Committees: Executive Operational Coordination Committee, the Executive Policy Coordination Committee, the Executive Risk Committee and the Renewal Executive Board.  The role holder will ensure that the committees are able to take high quality decisions based on timely and accurate information.  The role holder will also be responsible for supporting governance and decision-making within the Bank, as well as ensuring Bank governance is accessible and understood across the institution.   The role holder needs to have good judgment, integrity, strong communication skills and be committed to pursuing the objectives of the Bank. They will also work closely with stakeholders across the Bank, including the Court Secretariat (which supports the Bank’s Court of Directors) as well as the secretariats that support for the Bank’s three main statutory policy committees (the MPC, FPC and PRC) to ensure a coordinated approach to ways of working. 

The role holder will report to the Deputy Secretary & Head of Governance, and will also work closely with the Secretary of the Bank and the Governors’ Private Offices as required.

Role Requirements

• Challenge of papers to be presented to the committees, working with staff at all levels across the Bank to ensure appropriate and concise information is provided to the Executive Committees
• Ensuring coordinated decision-making across committees (“right committee first time” and ensuring there is efficient and effective information flow with the Court Secretariat)
• Liaising with the Chairs (and their offices), planning agendas, taking minutes and ensuring actions are followed hthrough
• Promoting high standards of governance, both within the executive committees but also across the Bank.
• Developing an active network across the Bank, including working closely with the private offices.
• Ensuring the Bank’s compliance with good corporate governance.
• Building and maintaining effective relationship with key stakeholders across the Bank, including Governors’ and the Executive Directors Offices, based on high levels of trust, influence and engagement, and with appropriate confidence.
• Investing due time in developing and refreshing governance knowledge and project management skills, including maintaining the governance expertise necessary to act as a subject-matter expert and sounding board for colleagues and business areas on key topics.
• Performing a lead role in developing and promoting knowledge management and training on governance issues within the Department and wider Bank.
• Where appropriate, providing external presentations and/or contributing to external publications relating to areas of governance issues.
• Mentoring and coaching colleagues, and effectively communicating timely feedback on colleagues’ performance to help with their career progression and performance tracking.

Some of the committees deal with complex technical and operational issues.  This does not require the job holder themselves to specific expert knowledge in these areas, but someone open to working on such matters and who is sufficiently experienced to feel as comfortable to offer challenge and take minutes of discussions of matters where they may not have subject matter expertise.  The role may also involve line management responsibilities of an Executive assistants.

Minimum Essential Criteria

• A good understanding of the roles of the different areas of the Bank of England, with experience of working on either policy or operational matters.
• Experience of mentoring, coaching or supporting team members or other colleagues.
• Experience providing advice directly to the most senior levels within an organisation.
• Working knowledge and understanding of governance and how it might apply within the Bank.

Essential Criteria

• Evidence of investment made in developing the skills and careers of colleagues, including by creating career development opportunities and by sharing own knowledge and experience by delivering training sessions and contributing knowhow.
• Strong track record of delivering in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment and through multi-disciplinary teams.
• Ability to deliver and provide advice at pace, with constrained resource and in the context of fast moving events.
• Excellent communication (written and spoken) and interpersonal skills.  Able to present complex information clearly and concisely for interpretation by others.
• Sound judgement and high levels of ethical behaviour, sensitivity and discretion.
• A track record of building and maintaining strong working relationship with colleagues at all levels based on trust, using influence across boundaries, both internally and externally.
• Strong self-awareness, with a willingness to accept and learn from feedback and proactively identify areas for personal development.  
• Evidence of ability to work constructively and flexibly across boundaries and to contribute beyond the demands of the day job to advancing strategic outcomes, priorities and vision.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of training others in writing and/or presentation skills, including in relation to governance issues.
• Experience in supporting governance reviews.
• Experience in supporting and implementing organisational change.